Pardew in good Kompany as pair given manager and player of the season awards

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew and Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany have been named the Barclays Manager of the Season and Player of the Season respectively.

The 50-year-old is the first Newcastle manager ever to be awarded the Manager of the Season accolade, with Newcastle guaranteed a top-five finish, which will be their highest position since 2003-04, under the late legend Sir Bobby Robson.

His superb dealings in the transfer market - bringing in Demba Ba, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and the fabulous Papiss Cisse - have propelled Newcastle to the verge of a Champions League spot.

Congratulations: Alan Pardew and Vincent Kompany have been rewarded for their outstanding contributions to the 2011-12 season

Toon fans were not expecting to finish so high up the Barclays Premier League table - the lowest they can finish is fifth - after selling many of their key players, in Andy Carroll, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique.

And yet they managed to pull off astounding result after result, including victories and clean sheets against Manchester United and Chelsea, with Pardew's man-management skills seeing his defence add up to more than the sum of its parts.

Heroic: Pardew has delighted Newcastle fans this season

Meanwhile Vincent Kompany, the rock at the heart of the Manchester City defence which is on the cusp of securing their first Premier League title - and their first domestic crown since 1968.

His steely displays and towering authority as the captain of the side have marked him out as one of the key figures in City's fine displays.

Roberto Mancini's side kept 17 clean
sheets this season and another on Sunday will surely mean Kompany will
be lifting the coveted Premier League trophy.

Rock solid: Kompany has been outstanding in City's defence

At the other end of the field he has scored three times, most crucially the winner against rivals Manchester United in what was dubbed the Premier League's 'biggest ever game'.

Like with Pardew's managerial award, this is the first time a Manchester City player has ever received this recognition.